Focus on public leadership as UCT's second Leading in Public Life programme kicks off

PHOTO BY: Liam Cornell

The GSDPP’s Building Bridges programme is currently running an intensive leadership training programme with 25 emerging African leaders. Participants who were selected following a competitive nomination process include, amongst others, media practitioners, social justice activists, public servants and civil society advocates from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.  

The early- to mid-career participants will discuss a range of topics, undertake educational field trips and engage with influential speakers, including UCT Honorary Professor Trevor Manuel; senior civil servant, Professor Lindiwe Ndlela-Msengana; Prof Edgar Pieterse, Director of the African Centre for Cities; City Press editor in chief, Ferial Haffajee and Executive Director of Section 27, Mark Heywood. 

“It is inspiring to interact with the next generation of leadership,” said GSDPP director, Professor Alan Hirsch. 

“Our School’s focus on strategic leadership for Africa’s public sector recognises the convening power that universities such as UCT have in bringing people together for an intensive and high-level leadership training experience. We are building a strong network of progressive African public leaders around our School and around UCT.” 

The intense, two-week residential short course runs from 6-18 March 2016. 

“The programme provides a unique ‘time-out’ opportunity to connect like-minded peers across the continent and nudges the impressive career paths of these young leaders to the next level,” said Programme Director, Dr. Marianne Camerer. 

“We are enormously excited to have leading civic activists from around the continent join us in Cape Town. Their commitment to public leadership as a form of service to promote development within their spheres of influence, is inspiring. We look forward to the learning and networking that characterizes the Building Bridges programme,” 

“Our theme for 2016/2017 is Governance Activism for Inclusive Democratic Development where we will look both at ways in which social and rights-based movements can promote development through collective action advocating for governance reforms, and ways in which authorities responsible for the delivery of public services can respond and engage more constructively with citizens,” said Dr Camerer. 

Participants will also work with an executive coach trained in the integral method for a number of months following the programme.

PHOTOS BY: Liam Cornell